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v N. E. SMITH;

GAR GOUPLING.

Patented Dec. 23, 1890.

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N. E. SMITH. GAR COUPLING.

No. 443,466. Patented Dec. 23, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHANIEL E. SMITH, OF JERSEY CITY, NEXV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALFTO JOHN R. MCPHERSON, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 443,466, dated December23, 1890.

Application filed April 21, 1890- Serial 110.3%,936. (No model!) [a allwhom it may concern: crumed on one of the axles of the car or on a Be itknown that I, NATHANIEL E. SMITH, a part connected therewith, andconnected to citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey the bodyof the car by a bar or rod capable City, in the county of Hudson andState of of up-and-down movement, and means con New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and nected with the bar or rod for effecting the 55,usefullmprovements in Oar-CouplingAttachup-and-down movement of the baror rod,

merits; and I do hereby declare the following consisting in a rack onthe bar or rod meshto bea full, clear, and exact description of the ingwith a pinion mounted on the body of invention, such as will enableothers skilled the car and connected with a crank for imin the art towhich it appertains to make and parting a rotary movement to the pinion,60

use the same. whereby the coupler-head may be raised or This inventionrelates to carcouplings. lowered by hand. l-Ieretofore great difficultyhas been expe- I have illustrated the invention in the acrienced in theuse of car-couplings because companying drawings, in which of thedifference in height of the draw-heads Figure 1 is a centrallongitudinal section 65 of adjacent cars to be coupled. The main of oneend of a car, showing a coupler-head cause of this difiiculty,especially in freightand my novel attachment arranged in proper cars, isthe inequality in the weights of the operative relation thereto. Fig. 2is a plan loads of the cars, resulting in the unequal de- View of anordinary freight-car having my pression of the springs of the cars andconseinvention applied thereto, the platform or 70 quently in theunequal height of the body of floor being removed in order more clearlyto the cars and the draw-heads and couplers, illustrate the invention.Fig. 3 is an end which are attached to the bodies of the cars. View of acar having my invention applied The objectofthe present inventionistoprothereto. Fig. i is a perspective View of a duce an attachment forcar-couplings whereframe or bar to be attached to the axle and 75 by thecoupler-heads shall automatically be designed to act as a support forthe lever, and kept at the same height irrespective of the Fig. 5 is aView of a modified form of support load 011 the cars. Furthermore, theobject is for the lever. to produce an attachment for carcouplings Inthe drawings, A represents one of the so constructed and arranged thatthe coupleraxles of the car provided with the usual 80 heads shallautomatically be kept at the same wheels and boxes or. Attached to theseboxes height, and which shall be capable of being by bolts or the likeis a frame B, having near regulated in height by hand independent ofeach end bends b to provide for the reception the automatic means fordetermining its p0 of the wheels a of the cars when the frame sition. isin position with its ends 19 bolted to the 85 With these objects in viewthe invention boxes a of the axle. The central portion 1) consists,essentially, in an attachment for carof the frame 13 is curved, thecurve correcouplings in which the coupler-heads have a sponding to acircle drawn with the bolt, upon limited up-and-down movement,consisting in which the truck of the car is swiveled as a a leverbearing upon or attached to the coupcenter. This portion 19 is slottedat 19 and 0 lerhead, thelever being attached to the body in this slot ismounted a block 0 by means of of the car by a vertically-adjustableconneca retainingbolt c. In this block 0 is pivoted tion and attached toor supported upon one a lever D, the forward end D of which exor more ofthe axles of the car independent tends up into the housing of thecoupler-head of the body of the car. and bears against the coupler-head.The 5 Furthermore, the invention consists in an rear end D of the leveris connected by a attachment for car-couplings in which the suitable baror rod 61 to the body of the car. coupler-head is capable of a limitedup-and The preferred manner of attaching the bar down movement,comprisingalever connected or rod d to the body of the car is by formingto or bearing upon the coupler head fulthe upper portion of the bar orrod (1 with a I00 rack, with which meshes a pinion (1, attached to theend of a shaft (1", which may be provided with a handle for imparting arotary motion thereto, or which may be connected with a shaft (1extending from the end of the car and connected with the shaft d bysuitable gears.

It is not essential to the operation of the device that the hanger beattached to the body of the ear in this way, but it is of advantage, asit permits of the adjustment of the height of the-couplenhead by handindependently of the automatic means of adj ustment when this isdesirable on account of the construction of the ears.

I do not wish to limit myself to the particular means shown of mountingthe lever upon the axle or upon a part connected therewith, as it isobvious that various means may be employed for accomplishing this. Forinstance, the shaft may be provided with a collar E, as shown in Fig. 5of the drawings, this collar being mounted upon the center of the axlefree to turn thereon and provided with a swiveled notched bloc]; e, inwhich the lever D may be mounted.

The operation of the attachment, as herein shown, the lever beingarranged in suitable position, with its forward end bearing against thecoupler-head, is, when sufficient load is imposed upon the body of thecar, to depress its supporting-springs and lower the rear end of thelever, and as this lever is mounted upon the axle of the ear or upon apart connected therewith independent of the body of the car the effectwill be to raise the forward end of the lever (that end bearing againstthe coupler-head) and raise the latter a distance corresponding to thedistance which the rear end of the lever is depressed. Thus it will beseen that by my device I effect the automatic retention of thecoupler-head at a predetermined height irrespective of the load imposedupon the car. If by any means the attachment should become deranged, theadjustment of the height of the coupling may be accomplished through thegears and rods connected with the bar or rod, by which the lever isattached to the body of the ear.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An attachment for car-couplings in which the compler-heads arecapable of a limited up-and-down movement, consisting in a lever bearingupon or attached to the coupler-head connected to the body of the car bya vertically-adjustable connection, whereby the device may be adapted toretain the couplerhead at any desired height, the lever being attachedto or supported upon one or more of the axles of the car independent ofthe body of the car, substantially as described.

An attachment forcar-conplers in which the draw-head is capable of anup-and-down movement, consisting in a lever connected to or bearing uponthe coupler-head fulerumed on one of the axles of the car or on a partconnected therewith, and connected to the body of the car by a bar orrod capable of upand-down movement, and means for effecting theup-and-down movementof the bar or rod, consisting of a rack on the baror rod, meshing with a pinion on the body of the car and connected witha crank or the like for imparting rotary movement to the pinion.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NATHANIEL E. SMITH. Witnesses:

R. S. DYRENFORTII, DAVID II. MEAD.

